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Thursday, March 12, 2015

Warrant Issued To Team Xtreme Racing Owner's Arrest

Team Xtreme owner John Cohen

Team Xtreme Racing owner John
Cohen is the subject of a legal dispute in his native New Jersey that has
resulted in a bench warrant being issued for his arrest.

Cohen is accused of failing to
comply with a court order requiring him to pay $55,000 to a pair of former
partners in a failed Manhattan night club.

Cohen told NJ Advance
Media reporter Steve Politi today that he is a victim of mistaken
identity, saying, "It's a story that's not true. I didn't make the
settlement."

Plaintiffs Anthony Santucci
and Jeff Rezink claim they were victimized after agreeing to pay Cohen a total
of $85,000 for partnership in a proposed Manhattan night club. Their
involvement was contingent on Cohen securing a liquor license, and they allege
the Team Xtreme Racing owner failed to secure the license, instead funneling
the money to his NASCAR team.

Santucci told NJ.com that
Cohen "obviously just pocketed the money. We believe he used (it) to fund
his NASCAR team. It completely crushed me. It was my first $50,000 I've saved.
I still haven't really recovered. It completely wiped me out."

Cohen has claimed that the
settlement order was actually directed at his father, telling NJ.com earlier
today, “That's not me. That's my father. That has nothing to do with me."

He subsequently told USA
Today that the warrant in question resulted from legal documents being
sent to him at an incorrect address.

"The bench warrant was
issued because it seems like I wasn't responding to (documents that) I wasn't
getting any information about," said Cohen. "Everything was being
sent to an address I wasn't living at."

Cohen’s own counsel, Tracey
Hinson, denies those allegations, saying her office “has communicated with
Defendant via email for the past two years and there had never been any
problems with him receiving or responding to emails.”

Hinson has asked to be
relieved as counsel for Cohen, saying in a court filing that he "has made
no effort to respond to our telephone calls or correspondence."

Team Xtreme Racing made
national headlines when their Sprint Cup Series Chevrolet was stolen in
Hampton, Ga., earlier this month while en route to a race at Atlanta Motor
Speedway. The race car and transport truck were eventually recovered, but the
trailer, assorted parts and equipment remains missing. An arrest warrant has
been issued for a “person of interest” in that case.

Team Xtreme Racing is
currently entered in this weekend’s CampingWorld.com 500 at Phoenix
International Raceway, with driver Travis Kvapil. It is unknown if today’s
legal issues will affect the team’s ability to compete. They have not raced
since finishing 32nd in the season-opening Daytona 500 last
month.